Moscow, Feb 28 (FN Bureau) The first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines developed by UK drugmaker AstraZeneca arrived in Australia on Sunday, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said. “Let me begin by saying I am delighted to announce that the first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines has arrived in Australia. 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines touched down this morning,” Hunt said during a briefing.
The minister added that Australia will receive over 53 million AstraZeneca vaccines in total, and “Australian-made” doses are “expected to arrive” in late March. Canberra plans to start using AstraZeneca shots in its inoculation campaign shortly. In addition to AstraZeneca’s jabs, Australia also has greenlighted the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, and expects the arrival of 20 million doses this year. Vaccinations using Pfizer’s shots started in the country a week ago. Australia has confirmed less than 29,000 COVID-19 cases and over 900 related fatalities.